Can You Flush Condoms?

Can You Flush Condoms?

Everything You Need To Know About Flushing Condoms

Can you flush condoms? The last thing on anyone’s mind after an intimate moment is proper condom disposal. Lovers everywhere have been flushing condoms down the toilet since ages now as a matter of convenience. Flushing seems to be the ‘easiest’ way of disposal, hence it is the number one disposal method used today. Why worry about anything else when we got convenience on our side, right? Wrong.

Can you flush condoms? No, it is best not to flush condoms down the toilet. Below we explain why flushing condoms is not a great idea, and offer some better alternatives.

Condoms You Flush Down The Toilet Don’t Disappear

Things that go down your toilet don’t disappear – especially waste that doesn’t break down. They clog the sewers and waste pipes, and they clog them badly. Condoms have a tendency to catch on any rough surfaces in the sewer lines or get caught in P traps and other bends in the line. Sewer repairs can be very costly and naturally should be avoided at all costs. These issues can arise in the pipes within your own home, but also in the public sewers near your home. If you ask any plumber ‘can you flush condoms?’, he will absolutely say ‘no!’

Let’s not forget about all the inconvenience people have to undergo (including yourself) if sewers do get blocked. Every time you flush a condom down the drain, you might have flushed a lot of taxpayer money along with it too. Much like the ‘flushable’ wipes that have become popular recently, it’s best not to flush them for the sake of your pipes.

You have a social responsibility to your community and yourself to dispose of condoms in a safe way. Can you flush condoms if they are made of a nonlatex material? We explore this idea below.

Can You Flush Condoms If They Are Biodegradable?

While it’s true that some types of condoms are biodegradable (lambskin condoms), most of the condoms out there today hardly break down. This is due to the fact that they’re mixed with artificial agents. Your latex condoms aren’t completely made up of latex and have a blend of other materials in them too. Can you flush condoms is they are biodegradable? It seems the answer is no.

Some manufacturers have also advocated the practice of flushing your condoms down the toilet – by making condoms that can be flushed down. Any plumber who has had to make repairs due to these flushable condoms will tell you flat out that condoms of all kinds should not be flushed. Theoretically, a lambskin condom is flushable since it breaks down easily. But real world tests have revealed contradicting results on many occasions. So even if your product claims to be biodegradable, it is still not advisable for you to flush it. Lambskin condoms are theoretically compostable, however.

Understanding Best Practices For Flushing Or Disposing Of Condoms

Flushing condoms aren’t an option anymore – what are my options? There are several simple and safe methods to disposing of condoms.

Knot Your Condoms Before You Throw Them Away

Here’s a top for optimal safety: tie the open ended part of the condom before throwing it away in a trash can. The knot will prevent the discharge residue in the condom from coming in contact with personnel who handle and dispose of trash. Also, make sure that you get the condom low into the trash bag – you don’t want the condom to fall out!

Use A plastic bag to isolate the condom

Here’s a method that’s even more effective – tie the bottom of the condom with a knot again, but this time around wrap a tissue around it, and place it in a plastic bag to conceal it from the external environment. Once you find a good place to dispose of it, you can do so without having to worry about anyone coming into contact with the used condom.

Things To Avoid When Disposing Of Condoms

Composting

A lot of people have tried doing so and have failed miserably. Trying to compost condoms is simply a bad idea as most condoms are not biodegradable. Condoms will ultimately take hundreds of years to decompose, and worms don’t seem to like the taste of latex! Theoretically, lamb skin condoms can be composted, but this should be tried as an experiment first, as there are several kinds of lambskin condoms available on the market.Don’t like tossing things if you can help it? Read on.

Recycling

Latex condoms, unfortunately, are best not put in the recycling bin. Working with used condoms always involves great risk and poses a significant threat of contamination. We don’t have technology that effectively recycles condoms yet. It’s best to throw away condoms in the trash or select a more biodegradable condom.

A Final Word

There’s no doubt that scientific breakthroughs in future would enable businesses to manufacture 100% biodegradable condoms, but until such a time comes, the responsibility of keeping our environment secure is on our shoulders. Can you flush condoms? Absolutely not!